Revealing Secrets
by NoShoesNoShirtNoSheldon
Summary: PART TWO OF THE SECRETS TRILOGY: Ferb Fletcher really thought this year would be better. With Fraser out of the picture and Buford somewhat back to normal, he thought things would stop being so crazy. He was dead wrong. What's a guy to do when your brother finds out the only secret you kept from him? FERB'S POV. Buford/Baljeet, one-sidedFerb/Phineas, one-sidedIsabella/Phineas.
1. Back Off

**Welcome back, guys. Who else is excited for this? I know I am! I'm so happy I finally got the plan. I'm going to jump straight in!**

**When I write each chapter, I copy a section of the plan and paste it in here so I don't have to switch tabs to go have a look at what's happening next. I'm so paranoid I'll forget to erase the plan and end up making you guys read Ashlee's psychotic ramblings.**

**Just some warning for you guys- this part of the trilogy is completely in Ferb's POV. We still have lots of Buford/Baljeet drama going on (trust me, we have A LOT) but there will be heaps of drama centered on Ferb's feelings and all that jazz. **

**So the pairings for you guys right now is one-sided Ferb/Phineas, Buford/Baljeet, one-sided Isabella/Phineas and maybe some others. I'm not sure yet. But these pairings are liable to change in later chapters, so watch out for that! **

**Oh, and before I forget! Ashlee, my lovely best friend and the one who plans all these stories out, is going to be posting all the nice little Phineas and Ferb one-shots I forced her into writing for me. Her username is Resacon1990 so go check her out! The pairings she writes is Phineas/Ferb, Buford/Baljeet and Buford/Ferb. She's legit amazing. **

**WARNING: slash, boy love, guy on guy. Don't like it, don't read. Mentions of rape.**

**Disclaimer: if I actually owned anything, we all know Phineas and Ferb would be together. But alas~**

Xoxoxo

He really wasn't looking forward to the new school year.

Ferb stood just outside the gates, ignoring the kids pushing past him and just stared up at the tall buildings. Last year had been so hectic and dramatic, he didn't even want to think about what this year would be like. Apparently the last year of high school was the worst. That was why he was so reluctant to enter. So far their little group had only just recovered from the scandal of last year- the now-famous Cinderella play and Chris Fraser's 'mission'.

Buford had only just started to bounce back from it all. It was a huge relief, because Ferb had been itching to go back to his own house. He would always be there for the brunet, but staying by his side almost 24/7 had exhausted him and strained their friendship. He couldn't even count the amount of arguments and fights they'd had over the school holidays. They always made up within the hour, though, because Ferb knew Buford was going through a rough time, and Buford knew Ferb was being an exceptional friend by being there.

Now that he was back at home, back in his bedroom he shared with Phineas, he was a little calmer. He still spent a lot of time with Buford, making sure the boy was okay, but he'd started spending more time with his brother as well. They'd seen each other nearly every second day over the holidays, but considering they used to spend every waking minute together, it had felt as if they'd been separated for weeks.

He'd spoken to Baljeet very briefly over skype. He'd been sitting with Phineas when the redhead had gotten a call from the boy, who was still in India and wasn't expected to return for a while. After only a few minutes, Ferb had left them on their own. He was still somewhat angry with the Indian for leaving Buford a blubbering mess (although the bully kind of deserved it) and leaving Ferb to pick up the pieces.

Someone nudged him hard. He turned his head, eyes landing on the person he'd just been thinking about. Buford was smiling, but it looked forced, and the boy looked quite dreary. It was likely the brunet hadn't got any sleep, and instead spent all night worrying about going back to school. He was scared at how the rest of their classmates would treat him after the play.

Buford's blue eyes had heavy bags underneath them and his skin was pale, showing just how much time he'd spent outside lately. He looked exhausted and work out, like he hadn't slept in a long time and like he'd seen better days.

Luckily for Buford (although he didn't know it yet) a few of their classmates had overheard Isabella and Phineas talking about Buford's side of the story. The two kids had spread it around the rest of their year group and Ferb knew most of them felt sympathetic towards Buford. Now all of the blame and anger rested on Chris Fraser, who hadn't been seen for a while.

"You okay?" Ferb asked quietly. Buford was just standing beside him, staring up at the school with the same reluctance Ferb had.

The bully let out a quick, short laugh that had no humor in it. It was the kind of laugh Ferb had gotten used to hearing from him, which was a depressing thought. "Don't worry about me," the brunet grunted after a moment, shrugging and wandering off once he'd caught sight of Isabella.

Ferb frowned slightly. He was a little worried about his friend- who wouldn't be?- but Buford had been acting that way for a little while now. He was trying to get through his slump on his own. Ferb was proud, but it was taking the brunet a long time. The green-haired teen wondered if his friend would ever go back to normal.

Buford had reached Isabella and the ravenette squealed and hugged him hard. Seeing Buford laugh- a somewhat real laugh- made Ferb smile.

"You shouldn't worry, you know."

He turned his head and met bright blue eyes. Phineas was grinning at him, standing quite close and running a hand through his hair.

"It's my job to worry," he said after a moment of not-so-subtle staring.

"You've done more than your fair share, Ferb," the boy rolled his eyes. "You need to let him move on and get over it by himself. You can't coddle him forever."

Ferb frowned, turning his head away. He couldn't help but feel protective. He'd seen his friend break down, slowly pick himself up and then break down all over again. He didn't want a repeat and he was determined to keep it from happening. How come no one saw it that way? Everyone, even Buford, seemed to think he was too involved. Too... overprotective.

"Come on," Phineas sighed and grabbed his hand, tugging at it in an attempt to get Ferb to follow him. "Everything will turn out fine. Now we've got english first, so we better hurry up."

Ferb followed silently, his entire focus on the warm hand clutching his own. He tried to swallow and found it difficult. More and more these days he found himself craving his brother's touch and it made him feel like he was a sick pervert or something. Still, he wasn't strong enough to force himself not to act on those feelings. So he allowed Phineas to drag him to their english class if only to enjoy the hand-holding, and he allowed himself to flirt- cautiously- every now and again. Not that Phineas ever caught on because, come on, it was Phineas. He could be as obvious as he liked and the redhead would never know. Of course, he had to make sure no one else was around, otherwise they'd probably figure it out straight away. Just like Buford had.

It wasn't like he had a crush on his step-brother or anything. He was pretty damn sure it wasn't a crush. Maybe ninety percent sure.

Or eighty.

...Or sixty.

English was pretty normal. Their teacher understood that there were no new students so they didn't have to play those stupid 'getting to know each other' games. Unfortunately, the teacher wasn't the type to let them slack off just because it was their first day back, and she had already given them a project they needed to work on over the next week.

Although he didn't show it, he was quite pleased when Phineas immediately turned to him after the teacher told them to pick a partner. The redhead dragged his chair over so he could sit quite close and smiled up at his step-brother. "So! I managed to read the wrong book over the summer so I have no idea what the Hunger Games is about. Can you give me a brief summary?"

"How did you manage that?" Ferb asked, turning ever so slightly in his chair so their shoulders were brushing.

"I thought it was Lord of the Flies!" Phineas defended with a laugh, before his face morphed into a frown. "And besides, it's not like I could ask you. You were otherwise engaged."

There was an awkward pause and Ferb felt a bolt of guilt hit him. "Phin..."

"No, no," the redhead immediately brightened back up. "I know you had to be there for him and all that. I'm okay! It's not the first time we haven't spent a lot of time together, right?"

"Right," the green-haired teen reluctantly agreed, although he honestly couldn't think of another time where they'd been apart for so long.

"So, what's this about?" Phineas held up Ferb's copy of the book and glanced over the blurb. "Anything in particular I need to know?"

He sighed and began explaining the finer points of the book that weren't included in the blurb. Phineas never noticed when he 'accidentally' brushed their hands together, and he was having a hard time restraining himself from taking full advantage of that.

The bell rang for second period and they packed up their things. He was both relieved and annoyed because he'd be leaving Phineas. The redhead in question gave him a bright smile before they went their separate ways. He crossed over to the other side of the school to his biology class and sat down heavily in the seat with the slip of paper bearing his name on the desk. He glanced over to the desks on either side of him to see who he'd be sitting next to for the year. Isabella was on his left, Adyson was on his right and Baljeet was supposed to be right in front of him.

He stared moodily at the Indian's assigned seat, his eyebrows drawing together in a frown. He understood why Baljeet did what he did, but he was still angry over how torn up Buford had been. He didn't know what had been said between the two, but whatever it had been, surely the boy could have been a bit more gentle with the bully.

He was jolted out of his thoughts when Isabella sat down next to him, shooting him a friendly smile. The class was just about to start, but they had a minute or so to talk before they'd have to be quiet and listen to the teacher.

"How was Buford's first class?" he asked the girl, knowing that she'd shared her first period with Buford.

"He's... alright..." the ravenette said slowly, forcing a smile that only came out as thin and worried. "But someone did kind of bring up the whole play thing and Buford ended up having to go to the sick bay."

Feeling a surge of overprotectiveness, he immediately stood, intending on going straight to the sick bay to see if his friend was alright. Isabella caught his arm and dragged him back down. "Sit down!" she hissed. "He's fine! You don't need to babysit him!"

"What's going on back there?" the teacher snapped at them.

"Nothing, miss," Isabella replied sweetly, doing her best to look innocent as she changed the subject. "How was your holidays?"

"Fine," the woman looked disgruntled, but hardly anyone could dislike Isabella and she reluctantly turned back to the board. Ferb was grateful. He knew if Isabella hadn't intervened, he probably would have gotten a detention.

He waited impatiently for thee class to finish, hardly paying any attention. All he could think about was Buford crying his eyes out in the sick bay, needing him. He kept a close eye on the clock, although he swore it was broken or something. Surely it hadn't only been ten minutes?

When the bell finally rang he gathered up his bag and went straight to the sick bay, bumping into Phineas along the way. The redhead didn't stop to ask what he was doing, he just started following him with a worried expression. Maybe he'd already heard what had happened.

"Where's Buford?" Ferb asked as soon as he got to the sick bay. The woman who usually took care of any sick kids raised one eye brow.

"He's gone home, dearie."

Shoulders slumped, he nodded at the woman and turned back around. Phineas patted his elbow, doing his best to give Ferb a comforting smile. "He'll be fine."

They began walking through the hallways, getting out of the building and into the fresh air. They stood for a moment, Ferb staring up at the sky and Phineas smiling at anybody who happened to walk by. Eventually one of their older friends, Django Brown, ran up to them, looking puffed and excited.

"Did you guys hear about Fraser?" he gasped out once he stopped in front of them.

"Fraser?" Phineas tilted his head. "You mean... Chris Fraser?"

Django nodded but instead of elaborating he leaned over, hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. Impatient, Ferb prompted, "what happened?"

Django straightened and adopted a serious look, which seemed rather silly on him considering he was wearing paint stained jeans and a t-shirt. "He's in Juvy because someone reported him taking and dealing drugs!"

"Really?" Phineas was obviously trying not to grin. He wasn't a very vengeful person but Ferb knew the redhead hated Chris and found it funny the bully was in Juvy. "Are you sure? How'd you hear?"

"Adyson told me. She heard it from Ginger who heard it from her sister Stacy, who heard it from her boyfriend, who is apparently involved in the case or something," the brown-haired boy shrugged casually. "And that's why he isn't in class or anything."

"Wow," Phineas commented.

"Yup," Django grinned. "It's a good thing, too. I heard what he did to Buford and Baljeet, and that was just downright wrong. Anyway, I was just heading off to the art room to work on a project. I'll see you guys later!"

Phineas turned so he was facing Ferb, but the green-haired teen wasn't paying attention to his step-brother. He was mulling over the information he'd just received. "Well," he said after a moment, "at least that bastard can't try any more funny business."

"Uhm, Ferb?" Phineas tugged on his elbow. Ferb glanced down, saw that Phineas was staring behind him with wide eyes, and he turned to see what the boy was looking at. Buford was standing right behind them, looking murderous.

"Buford," Ferb started, immediately nervous. Nothing good could come from that look. "I thought you went home."

"I had to go get my bag," the brunet narrowed his eyes in a glare. "How the fuck does Brown know the full story?"

"Well..." Phineas spoke after an awkward silence. "Someone overheard Isabella and I talking about it..."

"Fucking great," the bully snarled, pushing past them and heading towards the parking lot.

Phineas sent Ferb a pleading look and the taller teen placed a calming hand on his shoulder. "Let me handle this."

He hurried after his friend, managing to catch up to him as he entered the parking lot. He could see Buford's mother in her car on the other side of the lot, smiling and waving at them. Ferb grabbed Buford's elbow and forced him to stop. "Buford! Look, Phineas and Isa are really sorry-"

"Stop, Ferb! Just... just stop," Buford let out a sigh, running a hand through his short hair. "You need to let go."

Blinking, Ferb let go of his elbow, and Buford let out a barking laugh at this. "I didn't mean literally. I meant... you know... Your constant worrying over me isn't really helping. You've done so much for me when I was really depressed and shit but I need to work through all this on my own, now. There's nothing I can really do to repay you, ever, because what you've done for me was great, but I need to stand up on my own."

Ferb stood still, arms by his sides. Was he really getting that involved? That even Buford was sick of him? Had it really come to that?

The brunet cracked a half-smile. "Don't let your life revolve around me, bro. That's what mothers are for," he gestured towards where his mother was waiting with a small grin.

Ferb nodded, trying not to feel hurt by the fact his friend was pushing him away. It was for the best, really. The green-haired teen reached out and pulled Buford into a hug, and the brunet snorted as he returned the embrace. "I thought we were past all this mushy shit."

Ferb let out a laugh and Buford grinned before walking towards his mother's car. Before he opened the door he glanced over and shouted, "you should talk to Phineas already! Just get everything out into the open!"

Tell Phineas? Hell no. Not in a million years. Ferb shook his head in answer and Buford frowned, but he was already in the car and his mother waved before driving off. Sighing, the green-haired teen made his way back to the school, deep in thought. Buford, it seemed, was growing up. He certainly wasn't the immature bully he had been before the Fraser bullshit happened.

Ferb made his way to his new locker and pulled it open, putting in his english and biology books now that he no longer needed them. He closed the door and rested his forehead on the metal, contemplating what Buford had said. It wasn't like he didn't want to tell Phineas. It was just... the redhead wouldn't understand. And even if he did, he'd probably be disgusted. It was best to just keep quiet and hope the feelings went away.

He glanced over at the clock, noting he still had hours until the school day finished. It wasn't even lunch and he was already itching to get under a car. Mechanics always calmed him down.

"Ferb!" Phineas appeared at his side and touched his arm. "How's Buford?"

"He's going to be fine," Ferb said after a moment. "Just fine."

Xoxoxo

**Hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter. It was weird to write it from Ferb's point of view. Things will start picking up in the next few chapters. The last year at school is always the worst, right? And they're certainly going to get their fair share of drama. **

**Hopefully updates should come faster because I know Ashlee has been going crazy and writing the plans all intense like. So the plan for the next chapter should be in my inbox soon, and so on and so forth...**

**Review? Reviewers get strawberries! STRAWBERRIES! **


	2. He Knows

**Welcome back guys! Hope you're all well. Finally got the plan so lets jump right into it!**

**Just wanted to point out, the pairings RIGHT NOW are one-sided Ferb/Phineas, one-sided Isabella/Phineas and BuJeet. They are not set in stone! Some of them might change. Course I could be just yanking your chain, trying to lead you off the scent... What am I even talking about?**

**Sorry guys. Ashlee kept me up till three in the morning because we were roleplaying. No, it wasn't as dirty as it sounds.**

**WARNING: slash, boy love, guy on guy. Don't like it, don't read. Mentions of rape.**

**Disclaimer: if I actually owned anything, we all know Phineas and Ferb would be together. But alas~**

Xoxoxo

"I have a project due Monday that I haven't finished," Buford grumbled beside him, voice slightly muffled. "I'm tempted to just skip school that day. You wanna come?"

Ferb stared up at the car he was currently lying under, hearing Buford fiddle around with his wrench. The smaller of the two was a little worried that the bully was messing up the car, but he forced himself to trust in the other boy. He'd been taught by the best after all- Ferb himself. Mechanics had been another thing that bonded them.

"You can't just skip school!" Isabella's voice sounded from their right. Neither of them could see her face, only her feet, but they knew she was frowning. "We go to school for a reason! And if you haven't finished that project, maybe you should be working on it now instead of mucking around under that old car."

"Just because you've never lived a little," Buford threw back at her, handing Ferb a wrench when the boy gestured for it. "You've probably never skipped a day in your life."

"No, I haven't, and I'm proud of that!"

"Neither have you, huh, Phineas?" Buford asked, snorting in amusement. "Baljeet never skipped either. It seems Ferb and I are the only ones in this group who have any balls."

"I'm glad I don't have balls," Isabella said in a flat voice. Ferb pushed himself out from under the car and glanced over at the other two present in his garage. Phineas was sketching another blueprint, eyes focused, not paying attention to the conversation. Isa was painting her nails an electric blue, sitting quite close to the redhead.

"Come on, Isa," Buford coaxed. "You know you want to. What if Phineas skips with us? Will you come along, then?"

"Well..." the girl hesitated, looking over at Phineas, who hadn't even registered that his name had been spoken. "Maybe..."

There was a long pause before she leaned back, blowing on her wet nails. "If Baljeet were here, you could have convinced him to skip with you guys. When is he coming back, by the way? Actually, why did he leave in the first place? He didn't even say goodbye!"

Ferb pushed himself back under the car- they were using old skateboards to do so- and shot his friend a worried look. There was a long pause as Buford stared back, before the bully muttered, "so they don't know. I guess Baljeet didn't want to tell them."

"Probably because he didn't want to look like the bad guy," Ferb grunted, picking up his tools and getting back to work.

"Ferb, it's alright," Buford sighed. "What he did was-"

"If you say 'fine' I will honestly hit you with this wrench," Ferb snapped, his temper rising. Why was he the only one mad at Baljeet for what he'd done?

"But he was justified-"

"No one can justify sending another person into a mental breakdown, not even Baljeet," Ferb growled, turning to look at his friend. They stared at each other for a long moment before Buford smiled slightly and nodded.

"Why don't you put them out of their misery and tell them the truth?" he gestured towards Phineas and Isabella's feet. The two were currently theorizing on why Baljeet had left, and when he was getting back. Buford went back to working on the car and Ferb slid out awkwardly.

When he pushed himself up into a sitting position, he purposely rested his hand on the other boy's knee, keeping it there for a moment. The bully let out a rough laugh at the contact, and Ferb could imagine Buford rolling his eyes. Despite being told to back off numerous times, Ferb was still determinedly protecting his friend, and the contact was his way of supporting the other, especially when Buford was willing to share with the others what had happened.

"He left because of what happened with Buford," Ferb cut into his brother and friend's conversation. The two turned to look at him.

"No duh, Ferb," Isabella rolled her eyes. "But he wasn't upset to the point to leave the bloody country. Something else must have contributed."

"A couple of months after it happened he came around and talked to Buford," Ferb glanced back at the bully, who was still under the car. "I don't know what was said, but it upset them both. Anyway, I think his parents were planning the trip previously but decided now was a good time because Baljeet needed to get away for a while."

Buford pushed himself out from underneath the car and sat up, much like Ferb was. He had a smear of grease over his chin, but he didn't seem to notice. He didn't look very happy. "He wasn't going to go with them at first," he looked down at the wrench in his hand. "But after he came over... I kind of refused to be honest with him so he got upset and left. Next thing you know, he's in India."

"What, so he just ditched?" Isabella looked mildly disgusted. "What a way to face his problems. And then he just leaves you here? He should have at least made an effort."

"He did," Buford grunted. "I shot him down."

Isabella opened her mouth, no doubt about to ask 'why?' but once she caught sight of Buford's face, she closed it again. She glanced at Ferb, who raised one eyebrow. "Hey, Phineas," Isabella said eventually, grabbing the redhead's arm. "Lets go get some drinks."

"What? Oh, uhm, okay," the boy allowed himself to be dragged out of the room, but he didn't look happy about leaving his blueprints.

"Are you alright?" Ferb asked once they had left, his eyes flicking over to stare at the brunet next to him. They both stood from the skateboards they were sitting on and went over to the sink on the other side of the garage to wash their hands, Buford taking a moment to reply.

Eventually he nodded and smiled, knocking Ferb's shoulder with his own. "You need to stop mothering me, you know."

"I've been told," Ferb said dryly, a slight smile twisting his lips. They both let out a laugh and went over to sit at the table Phineas and Isabella had been at.

"So, told Phineas yet?" Buford asked abruptly after a few minutes silence.

"Buford!" Ferb hissed, eyes narrowing. He glanced around to check they were still alone.

"What?" the bully laughed. "It's a perfectly harmless question!"

"Seriously," Ferb turned his narrowed eyes on his friend, keeping his tone low in the hopes the idiotic brunet would understand he was being completely serious. "Don't go running your mouth off about that shit randomly. Someone might hear you."

Buford only let out another laugh, not grasping how annoyed Ferb was. "So you _haven't _told him you love him? That you wanna marry him?" his tone took on a lilting, almost singing-like quality that signaled he was enjoying dishing out the torment. "That you wanna have his ba~bies?"

"That's not even biologically possible," Ferb snapped, realizing there was no reasoning with the dumbass now. He reached over and grabbed the blueprint that Phineas had been working on, pulling it over carefully so he wouldn't accidentally rip it. The paper held the large title 'Forgive and Forget' and he read, scribbled down at the bottom, the purpose of the machine was to remind someone of all the happy memories they'd had with another person, and this would help them to 'forgive and forget' that person for something they had done.

He never realized how much Baljeet and Buford's fight had affected his step-brother.

"I'm sure you're smart enough to build something," Buford continued, seemingly not noticing how little interest Ferb was taking in the current conversation.

"Fuck you, Buford," he muttered, more focused on the scribbled calculations on Phineas' blueprints. He grabbed the pencil his brother had been using and corrected some minor mistakes. He'd always been a little better at maths than the redhead.

"Sorry, did I hear that right? You want to fuck me?" Buford cupped a hand around his ear as if he were having trouble hearing. "I though it was Phineas that you wanted to fuck."

Ferb breathed out heavily through his nose, his hands twitching towards his wrench. Oh, how badly he wanted to hit Buford over the head with it. But he couldn't- no matter how pissed off he was, he had to remember that the bully was still recovering and any sign of humor was good. Even if it annoyed the fuck out of him.

And the dumbass constantly reminding him of his unnatural feelings was starting to cause a sort of numb feeling in his chest. It wasn't pain, not really, but he recognized how bad that feeling was. It always arrived whenever he was at his breaking point, and when that numbness took over, bad things happened. He looked up from the blueprints, giving Buford a hard stare. "I can't like him, not like that. It's wrong, it's immoral, it's disgusting. So stop fucking bringing it up."

"Why is it wrong to be in love with Phineas?" Buford asked with a raised eyebrow. Ferb's hands twitched again. Did the bully never get it? He wasn't even in love with Phineas. He just... it was hard to explain, even to himself, because even he didn't fully understand the way he felt. All he knew was it wasn't love, but it wasn't strictly brotherly, either.

"I don't love him," he finally groaned out, tapping the page with his pencil. Phineas had come up with some good ideas, but it was still unfinished. He spotted another mistake with the maths and went to correct it.

"But you want to kiss him?" Buford asked with a sly grin. Ferb glanced up briefly to see what the idiot was doing and saw he was painting the table with Isabella's nail polish. He didn't have the energy to tell him off, instead rolling his eyes and going back to the blueprints.

"I guess."

His answer was nonchalant and emotionless, but he knew Buford would see right through it. Despite his disgust towards his own feelings, he thought about kissing Phineas far more than he should. Really, he shouldn't even be thinking about it at all. And yet here he was, admitting he wanted to, to his close friend. He couldn't help but think he was severely fucked up.

"I hope Isa makes me a drink, too, I'm thirsty," Buford grumbled. He lifted a hand to rub his chin and seemed surprised at the grease he found there. He lifted his shirt and wiped it away, and Ferb watched, detached from reality, not really paying attention to anything. Isabella and Phineas had been gone for some time now. Where were they?

He glanced towards the door that connected the garage to the Flynn-Fletcher household. It was wide open, and he could easily see his redheaded brother leaning against the door frame with a drink in each hand, watching them. Phineas' face was oddly expressionless, much like Ferb's own default facial expression, but it looked wrong on the boy. Phineas always had some kind of expression, be it joy, anger, sadness, or anything else. Never nothing.

He felt his heart jump to his throat. Either that, or some large organ, because something was obstructing his airway- he could hardly breathe. He felt his own face pale, and then begin to mirror Phineas' as a kind of automatic defense system. Cold, detached, expressionless.

"How much did you hear?" was all he could manage past the obstruction in his throat. Buford glanced up at him, confused, but upon seeing Ferb wasn't speaking to him, he whipped around in his seat towards Phineas.

"Holy shit."

"How much did you hear?" Ferb repeated, desperate to know the answer. Perhaps Phineas would reveal that he'd only heard that last few parts, which would be extremely relieving because they hadn't mentioned a name. All he would have to worry about was Phineas knowing he was attracted to another male, because of the mentioning of 'you want to kiss him' from Buford.

"From you wanting to have my babies, onwards," the only change in the redhead's expression was an incredulous raised eyebrow as he spoke, the words just as emotionless as his face.

The green-haired teen felt something akin to horror and he forced himself to stay calm. The numbness was creeping up on him, but he still held some hope that he could somehow salvage the situation.

"I was just joking around?" Buford offered, his voice rising slightly at the end as if he'd asked a question. It did nothing to ease the tension filling the room at an alarming rate.

"No, you weren't," Phineas didn't shift his eyes off Ferb as he spoke to the brunet, still showing no signs of expression.

"Considering I can't have your babies, he _was_ joking around," Ferb defended weakly.

"But do you?" Phineas asked, walking into the room and setting down the drinks on the table, one in front of Ferb, one in front of Buford. "Want to have my babies, I mean."

"Not particularly," he said as casually as he could. It was true, anyway. He was a guy. He didn't want to have another man's babies, for crying out loud. He noticed the drinks were lemonade.

"Mm," Phineas turned so he was facing his brother, crossing his arms over his chest. "But you do want to kiss me."

There was silence. Ferb couldn't deny it because he never _ever _lied to Phineas, but he couldn't admit it either. He just stared back into those blue eyes, hoping for any sign that his brother wasn't disgusted. He found none- but he didn't find any disgust either. He didn't find anything. Those eyes were empty.

After what seemed like hours but was probably less than a minute, Phineas broke the eye contact and leaned over to grab his blueprints. He rolled the page up and hit Buford around the head with it. "Don't paint on our table."

Ferb would have laughed at the surprised, choked cry that escaped Buford when the paper hit his head, had he not been terrified at the way his brother was reacting.

"I'm going over to Isabella's," Phineas told them. Still no emotion. No expression. Nothing. It was if his very soul had left him. "Tell Mom and Dad I'll be home in time for dinner."

He turned and left, not once looking at Ferb.

Buford rubbed the back of his head and glanced over at his friend, who was just sitting there, staring at the door Phineas had just exited through. "Shit, dude, I'm so fucking sorry."

"Consider us even for me blabbing about the whole blackmail thing during the play," Ferb replied hoarsely. He didn't blame Buford- this had been bound to happen at any rate, and the bully hadn't meant for it to happen.

"I can't believe he just left like that," the brunet said quietly, visibly relaxing when it was confirmed Ferb was not angry at him. "I mean, he didn't even say anything. He just asked for confirmation and then left."

"I don't blame him."

"Still," Buford let out a sigh. "Why didn't you just deny it, man?"

"Weren't you all for Phineas knowing just a few minutes ago?" Ferb asked dryly, reaching out to take a sip of his lemonade and not tasting it at all. He felt completely numb and detached. Maybe he was in shock. He didn't know, he didn't care. He was just relieved there was no pain. He'd thought getting your heart broken would be agonizing, but he felt nothing. Well, that was a little over dramatic. It wasn't as if his heart had broken. But he had expected Phineas' reaction to hurt. "And besides, I don't lie to him. Ever."

"All the more reason to," Buford's heavy fingers tapped restlessly at the table, ignoring the wet nail polish smearing on his pale digits. "He would have believed you."

"He still would have been suspicious," Ferb stared at the pencil still held in his hand. Absently he began doodling on the table, not caring about his parent's getting mad at him for it later. "And then he would have started to notice all the flirting I do with him, and the same thing would have ultimately happened. At least I saved myself from getting an earful from him for lying."

"What, he'd yell at you?" one brown eyebrow raised in question.

The conversation was starting to make the numb feeling thaw out. He could feel pain now, the cold, hard realization that his brother probably hated him.

"Yes. I lied to him when we were younger about feeling sick, because we'd organized to go out to the movies and I didn't want to cancel," he thought back to the incident, about how he'd fainted halfway during the movie and Phineas had to call for their parents to pick them up. "He yelled at me until I passed out. That was the first and last time I ever lied to him."

"Harsh," Buford commented unhelpfully. He paused, looking into Ferb's eyes, his own furrowed with concern. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I'm a big boy, I can handle it," he grunted. After a few seconds he almost laughed at how the roles had been reversed- he was now the one being worried over. The humor drained away when the reality of the situation hit him.

Phineas knew.

And Phineas was not happy.

Why couldn't life just be easy for once?

Xoxoxo

**Sorry this took a while, guys. Normally when I get the plan I start writing immediately and don't stop until I finish. This time it took me three tries to get it done. Dunno why, maybe I just didn't like this chapter. I did change the ending quite a bit from the plan (mostly because I couldn't understand what the hell the plan said, and I couldn't ask Ashlee because it's two in the morning).**

**So, as I promised, LOTS OF DRAMA!**

**And don't worry guys, there will be more BuJeet! As soon as the little nerd gets home, I promise!**

**Did you guys like? Yes? No? Maybe? I don't know? Can you repeat the question?**

**YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME NOW, YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME NOW, YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME NOW AND YOU'RE NOT SO BIG.**

**Impromptu singing moment there. Sorry. Thumbs up for Malcom in the Middle, though. **

**Review? Reviewers get brownies. BROWNIES!**


	3. Julius Fucking Caesar

**Oh my god. It's been some time, huh? I apologize profusely! **

**Ashlee finally got around to giving me the plan- along with heart shaped cookies for Valentines (yum)- so let's get started!**

**I've**** started writing Real-Person Fanfiction, which is as disturbing as it is fun. Anyone heard of Emblem3?**

**Favourite band, right there. I normally don't write fanfiction about people who are, you know, actually real... but they're all so cute! Anyway, I've written like two huge one shots and a few small ones and I can't freakin' post them because no internet and you can't post Real-Person Fanfiction on here, apparently.**

**But I'm desperate for feedback. If anyone wants to read my Emblem3 stuff, I'll love you forever. And probably give you previews for this/another one of my P&F stories or something. Anyone? Any takers? PM me or review in? I'd love you so much?**

**WARNING: slash, boy love, guy on guy. Don't like it, don't read. Mentions of rape.**

**Disclaimer: if I actually owned anything, we all know Phineas and Ferb would be together. But alas~**

OoO

"Julius Caesar," Ferb muttered to himself as he swung his locker door open and looked over his books. He was trying to remember the homework he'd been given over the day, so he'd know which books he needed to take home with him. The first thing that came to mind was his English essay.

_300 words on Julius Caesar and why he's an ignoramus dick who can't keep his trap shut._

Ferb winced at his line of thought and shook his head, trying to get his mind back into order. It had become much harder to do ever since... well, he didn't really want to think about it.

_300 words on Julius Caesar and why he allowed the Roman Empire to fall apart... because he's a dick and won't shut up when it comes to secrets._

_God damn it._

Pressing his lips together in a frown, he mentally chastised himself for being too hung up over the fact that he was pissed off at Buford. Technically it was Buford's fault that Phineas had found out, but Ferb had already assured the bully that it was okay. He shouldn't be feeling this level of annoyance and resentment towards him.

He grabbed his english book and shoved it into his bag before looking back into his locker, mentally going over the classes he'd had that day.

_Maths, pages four to eight. Funny, that's almost the exact amount of times Phineas has looked at me in the past couple of days. _

_Damn it, Ferb, focus._

_History, essay on black civil rights and reading pages 134 to 145._

_Nothing for biology or chemistry, thank god. _

He took his maths and history books and put them in his bag before trying to remember the chores he had to do along with his homework.

_Fix the engine in Candace's car so it doesn't blow out on her when she's driving. Her having an early birth would be the icing on the metaphorical cake this week._

"Ferb!"

Hearing Buford's voice pulled Ferb out of his thoughts, and a bout of uncontrollable anger surged forward before he could stop it. The green-haired teen slammed his locker shut and locked it as his friend walked over, before fixing said brunet friend with a glare. "Fuck you, Van Stomm."

"Woah," Buford blinked in surprise and held his hands up defensively. "Jesus, sorry for whatever I did. What's got your panties in a bunch?"

Ferb stared at the green metal of his locker before sighing and throwing Buford an apologetic look. "Sorry, been stressed out a little."

"I can imagine," Buford punched his shoulder in a show of manly support before they started walking down the hallway together, in the general direction of the parking lot. "Considering everything that's gone on lately."

"Let's not talk about that right now," Ferb winced, trying to force his mind away from a very certain redhead.

A certain redhead that was heading their way at that very moment.

Phineas didn't see them until it was too late to turn around or avoid them, so the boy plastered an obviously fake smile on his face as they grew closer. Once they were in front of each other, they all stopped- much to the chagrin of the students behind them- and Phineas kept his eyes firmly on Buford, ignoring Ferb completely.

"What's up, P-brain?" the brunet joked, nodding once in greeting.

"Hey, Buford," Phineas responded, still not looking over at his step-brother.

Said step-brother frowned in annoyance. He'd been ignored by his brother pretty much the whole week, and it was starting to get on his nerves. He understood that the smaller boy would be freaked out- who wouldn't- but this was going too far. They were supposed to be best friends, for crying out loud. Brothers through thick and thin.

With that in mind, Ferb stepped forward a little to get Phineas' attention and cleared his throat. "Phin, can we just talk-"

"Sorry, _brother_," the redhead cut him off, emphasizing the second word. "I don't have time."

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, Isabella appeared from behind him and grabbed his arm, seemingly unaware of the heavy tension surrounding the three boys. After smiling at Buford and Ferb, she turned her attention on the boy she was currently grasping and grinned. "Ready to go?"

"Sure, Isa," Phineas smiled back at her- it looked a little forced in Ferb's opinion but no one was asking him anyway- before turning his back on the other two boys. "You're parked on the other side of the school, right?"

"Yup!" Isabella answered, and the rest of their conversation faded as the two walked away, leaving Ferb and Buford to stare at their retreating backs incredulously.

"Well," Buford said after a moment of awkward silence. "What the actual fuck was that all about?"

Ferb grunted and they began to walk again, due to the fact they were pretty much a road block in the hallways and were bound to get yelled at for being in the way at some point. He glanced at his friend and shrugged. "Well, at least I got him to talk to me."

"That is the saddest thing I've ever heard," the brunet rolled his eyes. "Look, I'm sorry, I know I caused all this-"

"We've been through this before," Ferb waved him off impatiently. "So stop apologizing."

"Fine," Buford pouted, which looked rather unusual on a boy his size. The pout faded once he realized it wouldn't work, and they continued towards the parking lot in silence.

Once there, they both stopped at Ferb's dark blue car and Buford glanced over to where his mother was parked, mouth twisting into a frown. "So I'm guessing you want to cancel our drive tonight?"

"Yeah," Ferb nodded, unlocking his car and throwing his bag in the backseat. Normally he'd drive Phineas home but the redhead had started getting rides from Isabella- who was more than happy to help- ever since he'd found out about... Ferb forced his mind away from those kind of thoughts. They would do nothing but upset him. "I was going to just drive around for a bit now, instead. I would go get my motorbike but I just kind of need to clear my head as soon as possible, you know?"

The slightest smile played at Buford's lips. "I'll come with you."

The brunet waved at his mother before jumping into the passenger's seat of Ferb's car, not even waiting for any kind of confirmation from his friend. A bit stunned, but not annoyed, the green-haired teen looked up to see Buford's mother driving off before he sat down in the driver's seat.

"Are you coming along just to babysit me?" he asked, starting the engine and pulling out of the parking lot. Already he was planning on heading towards the library.

"That's only part of it," Buford laughed, leaning back in the seat and winding down the window so the wind ruffled his hair. "I wanted to get away from Mom. She's driving me crazy."

"Why?" Ferb asked curiously, not even bothering to wonder if it was any of his business. He and Buford told each other pretty much everything now. They'd both lost their best friends and only had each other to rely on.

"She caught me watching the play online," Buford grumbled, glancing away. "And crying my eyes out."

The infamous Cinderella play had been captured on some kid's camcorder and put online for the world to see. It had gotten quite a few hits but not enough to be considered internet famous, and Ferb had watched it once or twice. It was tough to watch, and he wasn't really that involved. It must be a whole lot worse for Buford, who probably watched it all the time just to torture himself.

"Fair enough," he said eventually, knowing not to lecture the other because he'd only get the cold shoulder. Buford didn't like to be lectured. Ferb telling him not to watch the play wouldn't make any difference.

"It's been ages," the brunet sighed after a moment. "I'm starting to wonder if Baljeet is even going to come back. Maybe he's moved to India and didn't have the courage to tell me."

"Don't be stupid," Ferb told him shortly, knowing that kind of thinking had to be stopped before it consumed his friend completely. "Baljeet and Phineas are closer than you think, he would have told him."

"Yeah, but Phineas wouldn't tell either of us," Buford said miserably.

"He'd tell Isabella, who would tell the whole school," Ferb countered, keeping his eyes on the road. "Stop worrying, okay? Baljeet will be back soon."

"Fine," Buford sighed, seeming to believe his claim.

The problem was, Ferb himself didn't really believe it.

It was starting to get darker outside, Ferb noted. He was alone in the car now, driving home from the library where he and Buford had been doing homework. Well, he had been doing homework and Buford had been mucking around on one of the computers. The brunet had left after an hour or so after getting a call from his mother, who claimed that someone wanted to talk to him.

Buford left pretty quickly, and Ferb hadn't had much time to comfort him. They both knew it was most likely more psychiatrists, people who Buford's mother had been forcing the teen to talk with ever since the play. The brunet hated every minute of it, but he went along with it for his mother's sake. None of it seemed to be helping him much.

Ferb had continued with his homework until the library had closed, and when he'd pulled his phone out of his bag, he saw he'd had about ten missed calls from Candace, and five from his mother. Feeling like he'd missed something important, he'd immediately gotten into the car and started home.

Ferb parked up in the driveway, taking a deep breath. He felt like something horrible had happened, and when he looked up and saw his step-sister coming out of the house with a worried expression, he almost felt like crying. It was eerily reminiscent to when his mother had died, and he wasn't sure how well he could handle another death. But then, he was getting ahead of himself. He didn't know anything had happened yet.

Climbing out of the car, he was pulled into a warm hug by Candace, who's pregnant belly pressed against his stomach the whole time. It was a weird feeling, but he ignored it in favour of staring at her face, trying to glean any clues from her expression.

"Where have you been?" she asked in a scolding tone. "Mom and I tried to call you like a million times."

"I was at the library doing homework," he told her.

"Any other kid and I wouldn't believe them, but that is so like you," Candace rolled her eyes before taking his hand and leading him over to the front steps. She sat down and pulled on his hand. "Come sit with me."

He obligingly sat down next to her, and she leaned her head on his shoulder. He felt a surge of affection for her- she was his sister after all- but that was soon overcome with dread as she spoke up. "I kind of wanted to tell you first..."

"Tell me what?" he asked, forcing his voice not to crack with worry.

"I know how close you were to Phineas..." Candace trailed off, biting her lower lip.

"He's..." Ferb cleared his throat, feeling as if his stomach had dropped to somewhere around his feet. "He's not dead, is he?"

The redheaded woman quickly shook her head, much to his relief. "God no, nothing that extreme!"

"Then what?" he asked, his body relaxing a little. Now that he knew Phineas was fine, he figured he could handle whatever his sister had to say.

"Well," Candace paused for a moment, turning her head up to look at him. Her eyes were worried and frowning. "You're not going to like this, Ferb..."

OoO

**CLIFF HANGER! I AM SO SORRY.**

**Blame Ashlee for that. She wrote the plan. **

**But anyway, I am so so sorry for the long wait. **

**Just a heads up, BALJEET IS COMING BACK VERY SOON! I AM EXCITED. BEYOND EXCITED.**

**Review? Reviewers get heart shaped cookies. HEART SHAPED COOKIES!**


	4. You're Dating?

**I so sorry about the cliff hanger! Maybe this chapter being updated quickly will make up for it. **

**WARNING: slash, boy love, guy on guy. Don't like it, don't read. Mentions of rape.**

**Disclaimer: if I actually owned anything, we all know Phineas and Ferb would be together. But alas~**

OoO

He couldn't remember ever being this angry, or this hurt. It was like someone had ripped his insides out via his throat, and left a big gaping empty feeling inside him. It was this anger, this hurt, that forced him into the house on stomping feet, slamming open doors until he got into the living room. Candace had attempted to hold him back but she was both heavily pregnant and short as hell, whereas he was both tall and stocky. He easily shrugged off her restraining hands.

Ferb had been hoping it wasn't true- that his step-sister was wrong or even lying. He'd be okay with her lying if it meant it wasn't true. But upon entering the living room, everything was confirmed. He stopped still and just stared, fighting the urge to turn around and run, fighting the urge to puke, to cry, to scream. To do anything. He just stood there and forced his expression into an emotionless mask, something he'd perfected since his mother had died so many years ago.

Candace was at his shoulder now, grabbing his elbow as if she expected him to do something bad. Maybe throw a few breakable objects, scream a few obscenities, punch a few faces. He wasn't really that type of guy, but he didn't really think he was in the right state of mind to judge what he would and wouldn't do. He was so mad, he probably could throw a few objects around right at that moment.

His eyes were trained on the couch, or more specifically, trained on the redhead who was currently sitting there, his arm around Isabella in an obvious show of affection. The girl's head was on Phineas' shoulder, and she was smiling in a modest sort of way- as if she were obscenely happy but didn't want to rub it in anyone's faces. Phineas' face was much like Ferb's own, completely expressionless. They just stared at each other in silence, which Ferb noted was the first time his step-brother had made eye contact with him in over a week.

Finally, he broke the silence, his voice coming out a little croaked, a little angry. It made Isabella jump and Phineas wince, but he didn't really care. "You're _dating_?"

"Ferb!" Candace hissed from behind him, her grip on his elbow tightening. He didn't understand why she was giving him this obvious warning, or what she was even warning him about, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered, except the cold look in his step-brother's blue eyes as they glared into his own.

"So what?" he asked in a nonchalant manner, his arm around Isabella's shoulders tightening. The raven-haired girl looked a little worried and out of the loop, but then again, it was unlikely she knew anything about what had been going on lately. The only person Ferb had told was Buford, and Phineas probably hadn't told anyone. He _might _have told Baljeet during a skype call when Ferb was out of the room, but there was no way of telling for sure.

Ferb attempted to string together a coherent sentence, honestly shocked at the blatant and nasty way Phineas was treating him. It wasn't like the feelings he had was actually incest, but then, who would believe that? They'd grown up as brothers, treated each other like brothers, hell, even shared the same fucking bath as brothers (when they were kids, of course). The only thing he managed to force out was a stumbled, "but... you don't even like her!"

Isabella's mouth fell open and she gave Ferb a look of hurt and betrayal, but really, what was he supposed to do? Phineas had never showed _any _signs of interest in her at all. If he ever liked her at any point, Ferb would have picked up on it. Better for her to find out now rather than later, when she was more emotionally invested in the relationship.

In fact, he was a little disappointed in his brother for doing this. Going out and dating some random girl was bad enough, but dating a close and personal friend was just horrible. Ferb was fairly sure Phineas was only doing it because he was angry and confused- and wanted to prove something to his green-haired step brother. What he wanted to prove, Ferb was unsure of, but it still didn't justify using Isabella like a tool.

Phineas' mouth thinned and his eyes narrowed, a sure sign of his anger. Ferb wasn't as good as reading his brother, but he had picked up a few things over the years. Sure enough, the redhead's left hand twitched every now and again, something that always happened when he was agitated. "What, you think you know everything about me?"

"Well, _yeah_," Ferb responded, feeling a little hurt at the question. Of course he did. "We tell each other everything."

The redhead snorted, still maintaining eye contact, although his blue irises were ice cold. "Clearly we don't tell each other _everything_, right, Ferb?"

Isabella slowly pulled herself out of Phineas' embrace, looking like she was caught between a rock and a hard place. Ferb didn't blame her. Imagine finally getting together with the guy of your dreams and having his step brother storm in and start picking fights for no apparent reason. It would be enough to unsettle anyone. The obviously uncomfortable raven-haired girl looked between the two boys rapidly, as if she could glean more information just from their expressions.

Phineas' words cut Ferb, especially because of the hidden meaning behind them. Was the redhead actually pissed off at him because the green-haired teen hadn't confided in him about his weird feelings? Or was the smaller boy just saying that in an attempt to lash out and cause as much hurt as he could? Either way, Ferb found himself swallowing and clenching his fists, not sure if he wanted to cry or hit something or both. "Fuck you."

"Ferb!"

He'd honestly thought it was Candace admonishing him, but when he turned his head, he realized it was his step mother standing in the doorway, looking scandalized at his cursing. Ferb had no idea what to say, so said nothing, and neither did anyone else.

"You two need to stop fighting," Linda told them sternly, narrowing her eyes at the both of them.

"I don't know what's going on, but Phineas didn't really do anything," Isabella said quietly, looking quite frightened when Ferb turned a glare onto her. After a moment of staring at him with wide eyes, the girl seemed to draw herself up and return the glare, as if to say, 'it's true, so don't get bitchy at me!'

"You know what, Phineas was right," Linda sighed, shaking her head. "It _is _about time you two had separate bedrooms. Being around each other all the time must be frustrating."

Ferb struggled for breath, feeling like he'd been punched in the gut. He managed a broken sounding "_what?_" and turned to look back at Phineas, who was studiously avoiding eye contact now.

"I moved into Candace's old room," the redhead explained, sounding a little ashamed. "I thought we needed a break from each other." There was a pause, and he finally looked up, narrowing his eyes. "You know, before our feelings towards each other start to change."

"I don't think it'll go that far, Phineas," Linda laughed, completely oblivious. "You two would never hate each other."

Ignoring the urge to facepalm at the woman's words, Ferb glanced behind him at Candace, who just shrugged apologetically, looking at a loss. He turned forward again, looking at his brother, starting to feel the dreaded stinging feeling behind his eyes that foretold tears. He really didn't want to cry at that moment, he'd much prefer to get it all out when he was alone, or at the very least with Buford. When he next spoke, his voice gave away his emotional state quite easily, which frustrated him to no end. "Why?"

He quite clearly saw the way Phineas winced and looked ashamed, and those blue eyes focused on the floor. His voice was quiet, as if he weren't really angry anymore, just wanting to leave and have some time alone. "I guess people just get tired and... weird around each other sometimes."

"That's enough now, both of you," Linda cut in, frowning at them both. She probably suspected something more was going on than she had originally thought, what with Ferb looking like he was about to cry and Phineas looking like he'd murdered a puppy. "Dinner is in half an hour. Isabella, I think it'd be best if you went home."

"Of course," the raven-haired girl stood and started to collect her things.

Linda left the room and Ferb turned to look at Phineas, who wouldn't meet his eyes. Feeling something akin to rage, the green-haired teen barked the boy's name and waited until he looked up. When he did, the older of the two glared at him. "Fuck you."

Ferb turned and pushed past Candace- gently, of course- leaving the room before he really lost it. He wasn't quite sure if he'd end up crying or hitting something (probably Phineas) but it didn't really matter anymore. "Phineas, what the hell?" he heard Isabella say clearly as he left. Candace caught his elbow just as he reached the front door, looking worried and upset.

"Are you okay?"

"Just dandy," he was tempted to snarl, but forced himself to be civil with her. After all, she hadn't done anything bad to him. And he was a gentleman at heart, his basic morals screamed at him to be polite to a pregnant woman, especially his older sister.

"Ferb, I'm sorry," Candace's lips turned downwards.

He pulled his arm from her grip as gently as he could and pushed the front door open. "Aren't we all?"

OoO

He'd taken his motorbike to Buford's house, knowing the brunet was probably busy with his psychiatrist or whatever, but not really caring. He could wait as long as he needed to, just as long as he got to vent the entire story to his friend at some point.

He was surprised when he stepped up to the front door and it opened before he had a chance to knock. Buford stood on the other side, looking just as surprised to see him, before his face broke out in a smile. "I was just going to go find you."

"Funny that, I was just coming to find your mother," Ferb joked, earning a punch to the shoulder for his efforts.

"Please, you know you're here for me," Buford grinned, before taking on a more serious tone. "So what's up?"

"I..." he hesitated, not wanting to talk about it in the open, but not really wanting to go inside either. Instead, he suggested their little hidey-hole they'd been frequenting a lot lately. "Diner?"

"Sure," Buford shot him a smile before going to the garage to get his bike. The ride there was long and peaceful, with no traffic to speak of, just the kind of thing Ferb needed to prepare himself to spill everything that had just happened. He was a private person by nature and he wasn't used to sharing everything with someone else other than Phineas.

When they sat down opposite each other in their usual booth at the diner, Buford let out a laugh and shook his head. "You know, we're starting to turn into girls."

"How so?" Ferb asked, the corners of his mouth turning up. The brunet always started these things off with a few jokes, and it always worked in getting the green-haired teen to loosen up.

"What with our little catch up gossip sessions all the time," the bully snickered.

"If that were true," Ferb smirked, "we'd be talking about boys all the time."

There was a pause and they both cracked up laughing, because the fact of the matter was- they always came here to discuss either Baljeet or Phineas. Maybe they were turning into girls.

They ordered two coffees and sat stirring them for a while, both avoiding bringing up the subject of why they were there. Obviously both of them wanted to get something off their chests, and Ferb didn't really want to go first. So after he took a sip of his coffee, he locked eyes with Buford and nodded slightly. "So, what's up?"

"Why don't you go first?" the bully offered, seeming a little uncomfortable. "We always get distracted by my shit and never end up talking about your problems."

"Don't be an idiot," Ferb admonished, although it was pretty much true. Well, he didn't really mind. Helping Buford with his dramas helped Ferb forget his own. "Just tell me already."

"Fine, fine," Buford glanced down at the booth table and stayed silent for a long time. Eventually he took a deep breath and looked up, making eye contact with Ferb, who was seriously starting to get curious. "Well, uhm... Baljeet's coming back."

OoO

**DUN DUN DUN DUN!**

**YAY BALJEET! Anyone else super excited for his return? I am. So very, very excited.**

**And thumbs down for Phineas' bitchy attitude. I know it seems out of the blue, but don't worry, that'll be explained later on.**

**Review? Reviewers get chocolate wafers. CHOCOLATE WAFERS! **


	5. The Boys Are Back

**This one was a little late considering I had the plan a whole week and didn't bother to do anything about it. Been freaking out about upcoming trips and stuff for school, so I guess that's my (flimsy) excuse. **

**But anyway, thanks for reading. Enjoy the chapter.**

**WARNING: slash, boy love, guy on guy. Don't like it, don't read. Mentions of rape.**

**Disclaimer: if I actually owned anything, we all know Phineas and Ferb would be together. But alas~**

OoO

"I... fuck," Ferb dropped his spoon, ignoring the clattering noise it made when it hit the table top. "When is he back? When did you find out?"

He felt like he had a million more questions, a quiet desperation in his chest that demanded he voice them all at once, but there was nothing else he wanted to ask. His friend coming back was a surprise, mostly because he hadn't been giving it much thought. Ferb had been too caught up in his situation about Phineas to really notice anything else going on around him.

"He called me a few hours ago to let me know," Buford said, eyes resting on the faded green of the table, finger restlessly rubbing it. "He was at the airport, told me his flight left in about an hour. So I guess he's already on his way."

Ferb felt like he should reach out and grab Buford's shoulder, comfort him in some way, but anything he thought of seemed wrong or inadequate. _He _felt inadequate, which was a first for him. His mind was still continuously pulling back to Phineas and Isabella, and he couldn't concentrate long enough to really give his friend the words he needed. "Wow," he said after a moment, taking a while to say even that. "That's great, I think. Is that great?"

The brunet in front of him shrugged one shoulder restlessly, still not making eye contact. He seemed both jittery and depressed at the same time, mouth pulling into a frown but hands constantly in some kind of motion. It was a weird combination that made Ferb feel a bit out of it. "I dunno," Buford said finally. "I mean, what happens now? What if he won't even talk to me when he gets back?"

"Dude," Ferb's hands found his coffee mug, wrapped around them in a desperate attempt to feel like he was doing something. "He called you to say he was coming back, didn't he? Why would he do that if he were planning on ignoring you?"

"Like that means anything," Buford muttered darkly, tilting his head so his hair blocked out the sight of his eyes. "He could decide not to talk to me while he's on the flight, or when he gets back home, or when he walks into school and sees the hall."

The hall where the play had been held, Ferb remembered. Somehow he doubted that Baljeet would take one look at it and instantly hate Buford. If he were to hate the bully, the Indian would have done so long ago.

"You're worrying over nothing," Ferb said. He tried to find a way to put his thoughts into words and came up short. He settled for a simple, "you'll see on Monday."

Buford grunted once and they fell into a tense silence, listening to the sounds of the other customers in the diner that night. There weren't many- a biker sitting in a corner booth, two older woman sitting at the counter and a young couple sitting a few tables away from the boys. None of them were particularly loud, and Ferb had to strain to pick up even little bits of their conversations.

"So, what was it you wanted to talk about?" Buford asked finally, obviously done with the Baljeet topic. He narrowed his eyes slightly. "What's up with you? You seem kind of... out of it."

"I'm fine," Ferb said shortly, no longer in the mood to discuss Phineas. It seemed that was all he ever did. Even when the two had been on good terms, he'd always had an annoying habit of mentioning his step brother in almost every conversation. People tended to groan whenever he did. "Can we just... talk about it later?"

"But-"

"Are you going to go around to see Baljeet on Sunday?" Ferb cut him off. "He'll be back by then, right?"

Buford's mouth thinned, probably at the obvious avoidance of the topic, but he seemed to accept that Ferb wasn't going to talk. The brunet shrugged and glanced out the window. "I don't think so. His parents aren't exactly in love with me at the moment."

"So text him and ask to meet up," Ferb suggested. "Or you could come over to my place. He might decide to visit Ph-" he cut himself off there, frustrated that he'd been about to mention his brother.

Buford raised an eyebrow at the green-haired teen's sudden halt. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Ferb grit out, sick of repeating himself. Everyone asked him that same question lately. Now he understood why Buford had gotten so frustrated when Ferb had mothered him. "Just... whatever, see him on Monday. Just know you probably won't get any alone time and you'll have to talk in front of people, which will be awkward as fuck."

Buford looked a little pissed off at Ferb's sharp tone, and they didn't speak again, leaving the diner soon afterwards.

When he got home, he found all of his brother's things had been removed from their shared bedroom and put into Candace's old room. Apparently Candace had stayed to help out, although not doing any of the heavy lifting obviously, but had left before Ferb got back. He found himself annoyed that she hadn't stayed to say goodbye to him.

The weekend passed as normal, except Phineas was out of the house before Ferb even got out of bed in the mornings, probably at Isabella's, and avoided Ferb like the plague when he was forced back home for dinner. This routine was fine with the older step-brother, who found himself in a foul mood and wanted nothing to do with anyone.

On Sunday night, Buford called him, sounding on the verge of tears, and the icy atmosphere between them dropped almost immediately. Ferb spent about an hour trying to convince the brunet that no one at school would make jokes about the play the next day, and when he finally hung up, he realized his bedroom door was open and Phineas was standing in the doorway, watching him cautiously.

Ferb refused to be the first one to speak, and they spent an unknown amount of time glaring at each other before the redhead finally huffed and glanced away. "Mom says you packed the dishwasher but forgot to turn it on."

"So?"

"So she wants you to turn it on," Phineas bit out, sounding as if he thought Ferb was an idiot for not knowing this.

Ferb wondered why Linda didn't just press the fucking 'on' button herself instead of sending Phineas upstairs to go get him, but kept his thoughts to himself. Instead he shrugged and set the phone down. "Fine."

On Monday, he was fully prepared for Buford's arrival on his doorstep in the morning, who was too nervous to walk to school and instead walked to Ferb's. He sat down heavily at the kitchen table while Ferb made some tea, still having time left before they had to leave. "Where's Phineas?"

"He catches a ride with Isabella now," Ferb said. His voice was calm, despite the fact he was rather annoyed. His hurt at Phineas had turned into anger. He thought it was some kind of defense mechanism, because the more time he spent being angry, the less time he wanted to have some kind of melt down just to relieve some of the built up emotions he was harboring.

"Oh," Buford said. He reached down and patted Perry when the monotreme appeared at his feet. "Hey Perry."

Once the tea was finished, they went out to Ferb's car and Buford fidgeted the entire way to school, which was only a ten minute drive. When Ferb pulled into the parking lot, he shot his friend a look. "Calm down, you're making me antsy."

"Sorry," Buford said, peering out the window at the parking lot, probably looking for Baljeet. A disappointed look crossed his face when no curly haired Indians were present.

They both got out of the car and Ferb locked it, pocketing the keys. As he turned to leave, Isabella pulled up in the space right next to them, her bright pink car hurting his eyes and serving to worsen his mood. Phineas was in the passenger seat, studiously avoiding looking at him, and a few of the Fireside Girls were in the back, all giggling about something.

Isabella got out and waved at the two boys, a huge smile on her face. She'd never harbored grudges and her annoyance at Ferb's attitude on Friday had vanished. "Hey, you two! How are you both?"

Feeling like he should answer but not wanting to, Ferb shrugged once. Buford put his hands in his hoodie pockets and scuffed the concrete ground with his sneaker. "Fine, I guess."

As Phineas and the other girls all got out of the car, Isabella walked over to Buford and put a hand on his arm. "I heard that Baljeet is back at school today... are you going to be okay?"

"How'd you hear that?" Ferb cut in.

Isabella looked at him like he'd been rude, which he probably had been, but she answered him anyway. "Phineas told me."

"He called me from the airport," Phineas said when they all turned to look at him.

"He called me, too," Buford muttered, sounding a little defensive. He was probably annoyed that he wasn't the only one Baljeet had called. "Whatever, I'll be fine."

"Of course you will," Isabella said brightly, shooting a smirk towards Ferb. "You've got your own mother hen here to look after you."

"Oh, shut up, Isabella," Ferb snapped, pushing past her and stalking off towards the front of the school. His outburst was uncalled for and extremely rude, and he felt pretty bad about it. He genuinely liked Isabella when she wasn't dating his brother.

Buford caught up to him just as they reached the front entrance, and they both headed towards the lockers even though they didn't have class for another twenty minutes. The brunet was looking around at everyone the whole time they walked, but he managed to talk distractedly as well. "You know, it's not really her fault that Phineas is being an asshole. She has no idea what's going on."

"I know that," Ferb snapped, and immediately regretted it. He was annoyed at being lectured, but he didn't want to be horrible to his friend when the guy was so worried and preoccupied. "Fine, I'll make an effort to be nicer."

"Good man," Buford clapped him on the back before suddenly paling and yanking Ferb in front of him.

"What the hell?" Ferb muttered, trying to pry the brunet's fist off his jacket.

"Shut the fuck up and just..." Buford peered around him, not relinquishing his death grip. "Just... hide me."

Ferb glanced over his shoulder and caught sight of black curly hair in the midst of their classmates, and sighed when he realized it was Baljeet. The boy was exiting a classroom but was walking in the opposite direction and probably hadn't seen them.

"Relax," Ferb said after a moment, when Baljeet had disappeared. "He's gone."

Buford exhaled roughly and let go, some colour returning to his face. He seemed embarrassed and turned to face Ferb's locker.

"I thought you'd be jumping at the chance to talk to him," Ferb muttered, putting a few books into his locker and pulling out a few that he needed for his first classes.

"After what happened the last time we spoke?" Buford snorted. "Not likely. He threw me a line and I shot him down. He has to be the kindest and dumbest person in the world to actually throw me a line, and I fucking shot him down."

Ferb sighed and shrugged, not really sure what to say that would help. He felt like everyone was leaning on him for support, though in reality it was only Buford, and he was just so worn out. Usually he knew exactly how to handle these situations, but since he and Phineas stopped talking in general, he'd somehow lost that ability. "Do you have any classes with him?"

"Yeah," Buford crossed his arms over his chest, looking a little vulnerable, which was crazy. The guy was built like a footballer, but then, he wasn't like that on the inside. And Ferb was probably one of the only people who knew that. "His assigned seat is right next to mine in English. I swear Mr Davidson did it on purpose."

"That sucks," Ferb said.

Buford shrugged. "Every English lesson I just sit there and stare at the empty chair. God, I have English third period, how the hell am I going to face him?"

"Just..." Ferb paused, trying to think of anything to say that would be remotely comforting. "It'll be okay, Buford. Seriously. If he took the time to call you before his flight, he probably isn't angry at you. How did he sound on the phone?"

"What?" Buford glanced up at him, as if he hadn't even been listening, but after a moment he answered. "Oh, uhm. Nervous, I guess. And tired."

"But not angry?"

"Nah," the brunet looked down again. "Not angry. He's not the type."

"Well, there you go," Ferb said. "So stop worrying."

"I wasn't worried about him getting angry," Buford muttered, shifting his backpack. "I'm going to homeroom. I'll see you later."

He left before Ferb could protest that they still had fifteen minutes until the bell would ring.

On his own now, Ferb made his way through the corridors aimlessly, trying to waste time until he showed up to his own homeroom. He ended up getting bored and arriving seven minutes early, but his teacher was already there so the room was open. He'd set his bag down on one of the desks and sat down with a sigh before realizing with a start that Baljeet was in his homeroom.

The Indian shuffled in exactly seven minutes later, eyes scanning the room full of teenagers before landing on Ferb. The two hadn't talked all that much since the play, but technically they were still friends, so the boy sat down beside him with a hesitant smile and Ferb turned to study him, wondering just how much the kid had changed in the last few months.

"Hey," Baljeet said softly. He looked worn out and had bags under his eyes, but that could easily be attributed to jet lag. He also looked nervous and fidgety, glancing around the room constantly, just like Buford had been doing earlier.

"Hey," Ferb greeted in return, not entirely sure how he felt about the boy. Baljeet had done nothing wrong, and yet Ferb still held him accountable for sending Buford into a fit of depression just before he'd left for India. Still, the green-haired teen thought that he should at least be polite, and besides, everything was Chris Fraser's fault anyway.

"How are you?" Baljeet asked, one hand raising to run through his messy hair. He yawned and Ferb found himself wanting to yawn as well.

"Good," he lied, not really wanting to tell the truth and have the other boy ask what was wrong. "And you?"

"Exhausted," Baljeet said, a humourless smile lifting the corners of his mouth. "And nervous, I guess. Have you- have you seen Buford?"

"Yeah, I drove him to school," Ferb said, carefully arranging his face to be blank. "Are you planning on talking to him?"

"In general?" Baljeet asked. "Or are you meaning am I planning on having a deep, meaningful conversation with him?"

"Both, I suppose," Ferb said.

"Well, I am not going to ignore him," he said softly. "But as for the second option, I think school is not the greatest setting for something like that."

At a loss for what to say, Ferb shrugged. "Just don't hurt him again."

Baljeet only nodded, gulping and looking close to tears.

They didn't speak much more than that and when homeroom was over, they walked silently together for their first class, Biology. Ferb was already dreading it. While the class was easy, he hated the teacher and sat next to Isabella. He wasn't looking forward to seeing her after his outburst in the parking lot.

When he walked in, Isabella was already in her seat and talking quietly with Adyson, who was to the right of Ferb's empty seat. Adyson nodded in Ferb's direction and Isabella glanced over at him. They made eye contact and the girl smiled once, although weakly. It was her way of telling him she wasn't mad, but she was a little hurt.

Feeling bad, Ferb gestured to the seat in front of his own. "That's yours," he said to Baljeet, who nodded gratefully and hurried towards it. Ferb sat down next to Isabella and Adyson, pulling out his books for Biology and setting them on the desk.

"Ferb, what's going on with you lately?" Isabella asked while Adyson watched curiously. The ravenette touched his arm as she spoke, looking concerned. "You've been having a lot of... outbursts lately, and I haven't seen you and Phin talk to each other at all since you guys had that huge argument."

"Phineas hasn't told you anything?" he asked, resisting the urge to pull himself out of her reach.

"No, he hasn't," she said, frowning. "He gets annoyed when I ask and changes the subject."

"Well, then, maybe I should follow his example," Ferb said as lightly as he could, trying to keep his tone from sounding rude. Isabella didn't look impressed.

"For the love of..." she took a deep breath and tried to calm her frustration. "Please, will someone just tell me what the heck is going on around here lately? No one is telling me anything!"

Ferb bit back the comment that immediately came to him (maybe because it's none of your business), and instead shrugged helplessly, not knowing how to tell her to back off without sounding cruel. "It doesn't matter, okay?"

"Wait, what is going on?" Baljeet asked, turning around in his seat and looking interested. "I am confused. What wont he tell you?"

"I don't even know," Isabella sighed, looking at Baljeet and filling him in, although not lowering her voice at all so Ferb could hear every word. "He's just been so irritable for a week or so, and he and Phin had this huge argument when he found out that we're dating."

"Really?" Baljeet asked, eyes wide.

"Yeah, and he's been snapping at everyone lately, even Buford," Isabella informed gravely, and Ferb put great effort into stopping himself from turning on her and yelling at her to stop talking about him like he wasn't even there. "Speaking of Buford," the girl went on, "have you seen him at all? He looked nervous."

"No, I have not," Baljeet fidgeted, not looking happy about the sudden subject change. He looked like he wanted to turn around and go back to flipping through his Biology workbook. "But I may have classes with him so I suppose I will eventually."

"You have English with him," Ferb supplied. "Third period."

"Oh," was all Baljeet said, and he looked vaguely sick.

"You know," Adyson piped up, once they had all gone quiet. "It sounds like Ferb is jealous, to be honest."

"Jealous?" Isabella asked, looking at her friend with a frown.

"Yeah, I mean, he got annoyed when you and Phineas started dating, and they haven't been talking..." Adyson waved a hand in a gesture that might have supposed to mean something.

Both girls and Baljeet looked at Ferb, as if asking for confirmation. He knew they probably weren't thinking jealous in the romantic sense, more the my-brother-is-being-stolen-from-me sense, but he was starting to feel a little nauseated all the same. He put his hand up and got the teacher's attention. "I don't feel well," he told the man. "May I please be excused?"

"I suppose," the teacher said reluctantly, turning back towards his desk.

"You are such a liar, Ferb," Isabella sighed, but she didn't seem too annoyed. "Can you really afford to miss a class?"

Ferb gave her an incredulous look, because it was just one period of Biology he was missing, and the class was easy as hell. Once he'd packed up his stuff, he left without a backwards glance, glad to be out of that room. He debated going to the sickbay but decided against it, instead going to the school office and signing out. When he got to his car, he sent a quick text to Buford, hoping his friend had his phone on vibrate so the ring tone wouldn't go off in class.

_Leaving school early, couldn't handle being inbetween Isabella and Adyson while they gossiped about me. Saw Baljeet. He looked okay, tired and nervous though. He said he wasn't going to ignore you._

He left his phone on his lap as he pulled out of the parking lot, and the vibration from the text he received minutes later made him jump in surprise. He pulled over to check it.

_leaving school already? keep this up and i might start to suspect ur cheating on me. lol. but thats good bout the Jeet thing i guess. ill tell u what happens in english._

Ferb snorted at the boy's poor joke before replying a simple _Alright, talk to you later_ and throwing his phone onto the passenger seat. He pulled back onto the road and the rest of the ride home was uneventful and short.

He saw Candace sitting outside on the front porch, still hugely pregnant and looking happy. At first he panicked, thinking she was there to tell him more bad news, but when he went over to her, she smiled and pulled him down to sit next to him. "What are you doing home so early?"

"I felt sick," he told her, which was only kind of a lie. "What are you doing here?"

"What, I can't visit my mother and step father?" Candace asked him, grinning. "But I was hoping to talk to you, so I'm glad you're here."

"What's up?" he questioned, looking at her face to see if anything was wrong. There didn't seem to be.

"I was wondering about baby names," she sighed, touching her protruding stomach. "I know I've always wanted Xavier and Amanda, but I'm not so sure anymore. One look at Jeremy's face when I suggested it and... man, he hated them. I could tell."

"You're asking for my advice on baby names?" Ferb said, surprised. "Why not Mom or Dad?"

Candace gave him a hard stare. "My mother named my brother Phineas, and your father called you Ferb. I'd rather not ask our overly retarded parents on name ideas for my hopefully semi-normal child."

"With you as the mother?" Ferb teased. "Unlikely."

Candace grinned and punched his shoulder, but he hardly felt it. Still, she looked at him expectantly, as if she were waiting for his cry of pain, so he cupped the area and gave an exaggerated groan. "Oh, I think you hurt my feelings."

She snorted and reached up to ruffle his hair, smiling in amusement and fondness. "How I've missed your horrible sense of humor."

"You're not due for a month anyway," Ferb pointed out after a moment. "What're you thinking of names for?"

"What else am I supposed to do?" Candace gestured to her stomach helplessly. "Jeremy wants to keep me in bed all hours of the day."

Ferb made a face. "Gross."

"Not like that," she growled, swatting his arm. "He just doesn't want me to exert myself unnecessarily, and it's driving me crazy. He's reluctant to even let me drive over here to visit my parents!"

"Count yourself lucky he loves you to that extent," Ferb told her, leaning over to kiss her forehead. "I'm going to head inside, okay? I'm still feeling kind of sick."

"Alright," she touched his hand before he pulled away. "You know I'm always here for you, right?"

"Of course," he smiled at her, affection overcoming his bad mood for the moment. Once he'd climbed the stairs to the room it took over again, causing his shoulders to slump as he dropped his bag to the floor.

His phone vibrated and he took it out, expecting an update from Buford, but was startled to see a text from Phineas. It took him several moments to gather the courage to open it.

_You left school early?_

He gulped, wondering why his brother was suddenly talking him after so long of ignoring him. He wasn't sure if he should reply, but did so anyway, craving the contact.

_Yes, I felt sick._

Ferb dropped onto his bed and stared intently at his phone, not having the strength to put it down and focus on something else. Everything in him was just waiting for the reply. After what seemed like at least ten minutes but in reality was only one, he started to suspect Phineas wouldn't text back. Just as he'd given up, the device vibrated in his hands and he hurriedly clicked on the message.

_Isabella said you got moody at her again._

Frowning at the mention of the girl, Ferb typed back an angry reply before he could stop himself.

_She was being annoying._

He waited even longer this time, and he even kept an eye on the time. It was exactly ten minutes before Phineas texted again, and Ferb opened the message quickly, but soon wished he hadn't.

_You disgust me._

OoO

**Phew! Wrote that all in one go. And I have the plan right in front of me, I can tell you now, this chapter is almost nothing like the plan. I changed pretty much everything. Sorry Ashlee. Inspiration calls.**

**Anyway, Baljeet! Yay! **

**Review? Reviewers get bacon and egg pie. BACON AND EGG PIE!**


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